The senator from New York is not the only voice in Washington calling for change. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., and Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., who are both on the House transportation committee, have demanded an investigation by the Transportation Department’s inspector general, USA Today reports. “In aviation, there’s no curb to pull over and look under the hood,” Oberstar said. “What you’re always looking for is widening the margin of safety.” On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that a control tower supervisor at Lexington had filed an anonymous safety report with NASA in 2004. The supervisor reported the airport’s radar system wasn’t working properly but managers refused to call in a mechanical specialist because it would mean paying two hours of overtime. The supervisor said staffing in Lexington was a “low priority to the powers above us,” and added, “Those types of poorly thought out decisions can cost lives.” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown responded to the AP regarding the NASA memo. “The anonymous report from 2004 appears to express concern about maintenance technicians, not air traffic controllers. We don’t have a staff problem in general at control towers,” she said.
Will Congress Take Action?
Key Takeaways:
- Lawmakers, including Reps. Oberstar and Costello, are demanding a Transportation Department investigation into aviation safety to ensure a wider margin of safety.
- A 2004 anonymous safety report from a Lexington control tower supervisor detailed a malfunctioning radar system that managers refused to repair due to concerns about overtime costs.
- The report also criticized low staffing priority at Lexington, warning of potential life-threatening consequences from "poorly thought out decisions," though an FAA spokeswoman dismissed the report's relevance to air traffic controller staffing.
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